295 



jiig on the i)icscivativo |)rinci|)l<'. Those ihul iiilelhf]jciU per- 

 son seemed at once to apprehend, anti soon hejj^an to apply 

 (hem to practice. 



In the middle of Marcli of the .same year, lie removed to 

 tlie open park eleven oaks and ashes, of from iive-and-twenty 

 to thirty feet high, and in girth from two feet to two-and-a- 

 half. One or two of the oaks were as high as forty feet, and 

 they had all handsome tops. In April, 1827, he transferred 

 six or seven trees, and of nearly similar dimensions, and at 

 the average expense, in both years (according to a statement 

 by himself in my possession), of somewhat less than 8s. each. 

 Notwithstanding the severe drought in 1826, it may be con- 

 sidered as a remarkable circumstance, that only two died, 

 probably owing to the want of sufficient covering and water- 

 ing; and when I saw, in July last, the trees of the present 

 year, they all carried a healthy leaf, and promised to succeed 

 admirably. 



The plantations of Lee not having been thinned to wide 

 distances, this ingenious planter was much limited in his 

 choice of subjects ; and, although what he has selected are 

 very handsome and stately plants, they are yet somewhat de- 

 ficient in the protecting properties, and consequently in fitness 

 for the open field. He must not, therefore, be surprised or dis- 

 couraged, if, according to the important doctrine stated in 

 Section Fifth, the trees should become stationary for a few 

 years, instead of being progressive, until, as I have said in the 

 passage alluded to, these properties are supplied by time, and 

 this deficiency is made up. The effort of Mr. Hamilton, 

 nevertheless, is spirited and meritorious ; and it serves to show 

 what may be done by the diligence and attention of a single 

 individual, who, with very cursory instructions from me, and 

 with no assistance from experienced workmen, has been able 

 to give Immediate Effect to Wood, in a manner so creditable 

 to himself, and at so small an expense to his employer. 



The fifth person, to whom 1 sluill lerer, is a i)arlicidar fricn<' 



